COVID-19 Megathread 6: Return of the Omicron

[Can't Bear]

https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1478940953943543811

[Mr. Illini]

https://twitter.com/WVGovernor/status/1479225768899133442

He'd be better off imposing a statewide vaccine mandate for workplaces and businesses. 90% of hospitalizations are among unvaccinated people. A fourth dose may help some of the vulnerable that make up that 10%, but it will not address the bulk of the problem.

[Lief 🗽]

I’ve of course been saying this for weeks now but it’s nice for the public health elites to finally get on board too.
https://twitter.com/deitaone/status/1479474991922098176?s=21

[Bandit3 the Worker]

https://twitter.com/deitaone/status/1479474991922098176?s=21

Really?!?!?! Naaawwwwwwww!!!!!

[Zohranism is OUR future]

I’ve of course been saying this for weeks now but it’s nice for the public health elites to finally get on board too.
https://twitter.com/deitaone/status/1479474991922098176?s=21

You mean experts.

They aren’t f**king elites, they just don’t jump to conclusions to satisfy your wet dreams.

[Crumpets]

Since December 20th, when Omicron really began to take off in the US, about 2.28% of the US population has tested positive for COVID. The idea that Omicron will just work its way through the entire population, and we'll reach some level of herd immunity probably has some truth to it (assuming no new variants in the near future), but it still has a long way to go, if that's the plan.

[Aurelius]

Since December 20th, when Omicron really began to take off in the US, about 2.28% of the US population has tested positive for COVID. The idea that Omicron will just work its way through the entire population, and we'll reach some level of herd immunity probably has some truth to it (assuming no new variants in the near future), but it still has a long way to go, if that's the plan.

Most tests are at home nowadays, and I suspect most positive home test results are not getting reported to the govt. I've read that some counties, notably Fairfax VA, are not even accepting submission of home test results.

There is also tons of asymptomatic omicron that is presumably not being tested for.

[Zohranism is OUR future]

Since December 20th, when Omicron really began to take off in the US, about 2.28% of the US population has tested positive for COVID. The idea that Omicron will just work its way through the entire population, and we'll reach some level of herd immunity probably has some truth to it (assuming no new variants in the near future), but it still has a long way to go, if that's the plan.

Most tests are at home nowadays, and I suspect most positive home test results are not getting reported to the govt. I've read that some counties, notably Fairfax VA, are not even accepting submission of home test results.

There is also tons of asymptomatic omicron that is presumably not being tested for.

Not to mention that plenty of mildly symptomatic people across the country probably aren’t even bothering to get tested in the first place.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Since December 20th, when Omicron really began to take off in the US, about 2.28% of the US population has tested positive for COVID. The idea that Omicron will just work its way through the entire population, and we'll reach some level of herd immunity probably has some truth to it (assuming no new variants in the near future), but it still has a long way to go, if that's the plan.

I tested positive (home test) and I'm not included in that 2.28%.

[Roll Roons]

https://twitter.com/alykatzz/status/1479552490764967940

[GeorgiaModerate]

QAnon Star who said only idiots get vaccinated dies of COVID

We've seen many of these stories by now, but this is the chilling part:

In the face of these deaths, their surviving friends and supporters have started to allege that the dead QAnon figures are being murdered, either because they were refused internet folk remedies like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, or because they were killed by the deep-state to cover up their conspiracy theories. In December, Kuzma and a number of other conspiracy theorists were sickened with COVID-like symptoms after appearing together at a conference. Rather than acknowledge that they had COVID, the far-right influencers suggested they had been targeted by an anthrax attack.

After Weldon’s death, her QAnon allies threatened to pursue violent action against staff at the hospital where they died. Scott McKay, a QAnon personality known as the “Patriot Streetfighter,” said he would publicize the names of doctors and nurses involved in treating Weldon, saying he wanted to “put the fear into these medical professionals” in a Telegram post. McKay proposed the hospital staff be sentenced to death, or be murdered in vigilante violence.

“If it’s not done in a military tribunal then it’s going to be done in the street eventually and not to my wishes,” McKay wrote. “That’s my greatest fear. But if it’s necessary, it’s going to be necessary.”

[compucomp]

https://twitter.com/alykatzz/status/1479552490764967940

This is a good piece of info. It does show, in combination with all the other data, that Omicron is indeed milder per case than prior variants particularly for a population that is mostly vaccinated. However, I don't think this is the "gotcha" you're looking for to declare COVID the common cold. Even if a patient just happened to test positive, the hospital still needs to take precautions in case they're COVID infectious. Also Omicron is so contagious the raw number of actual COVID patients is still high.

If this is how the world will be when COVID is endemic, then this means that if we don't want medical services to suffer greatly in quality every winter, then hospitals will have to be mandated to build extra capacity, and then we will either need to pay higher medical costs or we will need to pay taxes for the government to subsidize hospitals. I imagine as a Republican you're not going to be very pleased with that.

[Hammy]

QAnon Star who said only idiots get vaccinated dies of COVID

We've seen many of these stories by now, but this is the chilling part:

In the face of these deaths, their surviving friends and supporters have started to allege that the dead QAnon figures are being murdered, either because they were refused internet folk remedies like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, or because they were killed by the deep-state to cover up their conspiracy theories. In December, Kuzma and a number of other conspiracy theorists were sickened with COVID-like symptoms after appearing together at a conference. Rather than acknowledge that they had COVID, the far-right influencers suggested they had been targeted by an anthrax attack.

After Weldon’s death, her QAnon allies threatened to pursue violent action against staff at the hospital where they died. Scott McKay, a QAnon personality known as the “Patriot Streetfighter,” said he would publicize the names of doctors and nurses involved in treating Weldon, saying he wanted to “put the fear into these medical professionals” in a Telegram post. McKay proposed the hospital staff be sentenced to death, or be murdered in vigilante violence.

“If it’s not done in a military tribunal then it’s going to be done in the street eventually and not to my wishes,” McKay wrote. “That’s my greatest fear. But if it’s necessary, it’s going to be necessary.”

The time has come to treat the antivax movement as domestic terrorists who pose an immediate threat.

[Migrant Crime]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

[Calthrina950]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

I heard about this. Most observers seem to believe that the Court is leaning against the OSHA vaccine mandate, but it's likely to be a closely divided decision. As of right now, I'm thinking that it might be 5-4, with Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett voting to strike down the mandate, and Roberts, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan voting to uphold it, although Roberts could plausibly go the other way.

Interestingly enough, Sotomayor is the only Justice who wears a mask on the bench during oral arguments. Of course, she has diabetes and is in more perilous health than her colleagues, so that makes sense.

[compucomp]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

I heard about this. Most observers seem to believe that the Court is leaning against the OSHA vaccine mandate, but it's likely to be a closely divided decision. As of right now, I'm thinking that it might be 5-4, with Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett voting to strike down the mandate, and Roberts, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan voting to uphold it, although Roberts could plausibly go the other way.

Interestingly enough, Sotomayor is the only Justice who wears a mask on the bench during oral arguments. Of course, she has diabetes and is in more perilous health than her colleagues, so that makes sense.

I would keep an eye on Amy Coney Barrett. She has made pro-containment decisions before as a circuit judge in 2020, upholding JB Pritzker's emergency orders and rejecting a challenge to the vaccine mandate of Indiana University.

[Calthrina950]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

Was Mystal equally critical of Sotomayor? I highly doubt it. The oral arguments, on the whole, revealed that many of the Justices are ignorant about the virus and the vaccine. They are not doctors, nor are they medical experts.

[Migrant Crime]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

If the hearing was about mandating a flu vaccine, you might have a point!

[Tintrlvr]

Since December 20th, when Omicron really began to take off in the US, about 2.28% of the US population has tested positive for COVID. The idea that Omicron will just work its way through the entire population, and we'll reach some level of herd immunity probably has some truth to it (assuming no new variants in the near future), but it still has a long way to go, if that's the plan.

Most tests are at home nowadays, and I suspect most positive home test results are not getting reported to the govt. I've read that some counties, notably Fairfax VA, are not even accepting submission of home test results.

There is also tons of asymptomatic omicron that is presumably not being tested for.

Right - accounting for the relatively low rate of test reporting (probably most reported tests are through institutions - hospitals, school, and other entities that require all employers/entrants to be regularly tested), almost certainly at least 10%, and possibly as high as 20% of the United States has already had omicron, with the percentages much higher in areas where Omicron arrived earlier (maybe as high as 70-80% in NYC, e.g.) and more like 2-3% only in places where Omicron didn't show a presence until the New Year, like much of the rural Mountain West.

[Roll Roons]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

You know, I remember McAuliffe also repeatedly overstated the number of hospitalized kids by a ton. COVID hysteria on the left gets on my nerves just as much as antivax lunacy on the right.

[compucomp]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

Was Mystal equally critical of Sotomayor? I highly doubt it. The oral arguments, on the whole, revealed that many of the Justices are ignorant about the virus and the vaccine. They are not doctors, nor are they medical experts.

Of course not. Why would you be critical of a partisan on your side? Why did Green Line post the Tweet about Sotomayor's misstatements and not Gorsuch's?

I don't know what Amy Coney Barrett said today during the arguments but based on her previous track record on coronavirus containment issues she could sustain the vaccine mandate. If she does, even though I agree with her on just about nothing else, then she made the right decision on the foremost issue of the day and I will support her.

[Pericles]

These people are worse than politicians, just awful that they have the ego to be major policy makers and that the rest of the country lets them get away with it.

[compucomp]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

If the hearing was about mandating a flu vaccine, you might have a point!

You're way smarter than this. You know exactly what pro-COVID numbskulls have tried to do from the beginning when bringing up the flu in comparison to COVID. You're either one of them or you're a blind partisan who thinks of everything as a sports match, where your team never commits a foul but the opposing team commits a foul on every play.

[Migrant Crime]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

Fine then, also kick out Gorsuch for overestimating annual flu deaths by an order of magnitude to pretend that "COVID is like the flu":

https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1479497902653329408

If the hearing was about mandating a flu vaccine, you might have a point!

You're way smarter than this. You know exactly what pro-COVID numbskulls have tried to do from the beginning when bringing up the flu in comparison to COVID. You're either one of them or you're a blind partisan who thinks of everything as a sports match, where your team never commits a foul but the opposing team commits a foul on every play.

Ok, lol "foul" on Gorsuch for flubbing flu numbers.  When he tries mandating people take a vaccine against their will based on his poor understanding of the flu, I'll be very displeased with him.  Until then, not concerned.  Not going to play the false equivalency game with you and pretend all statements are somehow equvalent to each other.  Go play with someone else.  Not going to bother posting tweets from every single justice, just the ones I find particularly relevant and egrigous.  If you think otherwise, continue clotting up the thread.

[Hammy]

Sonia Sotomayor spewed more false information about Covid today in the Supreme Court than MTG or any anti vaxxer could ever hope to.  Hopefully she is relentlessly censored and fact checked by big tech (i know, lol).  Amazing and frightening that these out of touch, zero-Covid boomers are in positions of such high authority.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1479500787583758346

You know, I remember McAuliffe also repeatedly overstated the number of hospitalized kids by a ton. COVID hysteria on the left gets on my nerves just as much as antivax lunacy on the right.

The worst part of this is there actually is a valid argument for mandates--vastly reduced deaths and hospitalizations thanks to vaccination, even many high risk people who have breakthrough cases are surviving, and if everyone is vaccinated the hospitalizations will dramatically plummet.

But instead they resort to lies and fear tactics.